The Gatekeepers
by Golden Gypsy
Summary: Their only job was to pose as newsies and guard the portals, ensuring that the world of Enara was never discovered.  But when a fallen princess, stripped of her magic, crashes through the door, they find that the fate of Enara rests solely in their hands.
1. The Trade

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Newsies!

Author's Note: Okay, I know I shouldn't start two stories at once, but I just couldn't help myself. Please read and review!

Chapter One: The Trade

"Now Noa," the king said gently, "Try to be _reasonable_ about this. You're a princess of Mora, he's a…well, an absolute _nobody_ from Graylen."

"I love him," she ground out, tears of frustration stinging behind her eyes.

_I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry._ Her jaw clenched tightly and her bow shaped lips drew into a narrow line.

He spoke simply, and each word cut like a knife on her skin.

"I cannot allow it."

Noa drew a shaky breath, _this is it_, she thought,_ he's not leaving me any other option_.

"Well," she paused, raising her chin defiantly and staring into his piercing eyes, "I'm not asking you to."

With that she turned on her heel and strode quickly from the chamber, willing herself not to smirk with self-satisfaction at the gasp her mother elicited before the door slammed behind her.

Slinging the bag she had left sitting in the hallway over her shoulder she ran swiftly to the stairwell, leaping down the steps three at a time. She planned to be well out of the castle before her father gathered enough wits about him to send someone after her.

Outside she breathed in the sweet spring air and made her way into the forest that began just beyond the castle grounds.

"Dayne!" She yelped in surprise upon seeing her lover, the slender young man leaning against a gnarled oak tree, "You shouldn't have come this close! What if someone had seen you?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, a mischievous grin on his face, "They wouldn't have known who I was. Besides," he said, wrapping his arms around Noa to pull her in for a kiss, "I didn't want you walking through these woods all by yourself."

Noa rolled her eyes, "I'm a big girl, dummy," she placed her hands on his chest and looked up at him, "I told him I wasn't asking for his permission, you know. I did it, we're free," she smiled teasingly, tweaking one of his pointed elfin ears, "Just so long as you don't mind not being with a princess, because I'm pretty sure this loses me my title."

"You know none of that's ever been important to me," Dayne whispered, brushing a lock of hair away from her face.

Nodded, she moved away from him, "Well then what are we waiting for? No use standing around here, let's go!"

Dayne transferred her pack onto his own shoulder and hand in hand they walked further into the forest.

· · · · ·

"LOREN!" The king thundered, and the servants in the hallway flinched as they went about their duties.

In a grand and completely unnecessary puff of dark smoke the wizard appeared, folding away his wand into his robes as he bowed low to his ruler.

"Your majesty," Loren said graciously as he straightened, "What may I do for you?"

"Noa," The king spit out angrily, and the queen was sent into another crying fit at the mention of her daughter's name, "Has run off with that…_elf_."

"Ah," Loren spoke thoughtfully, "I see. That is most…unfortunate, to say the least."

"Yes, well, I want you take care of it. By any…_means_…necessary. Understand, Loren," the king's voiced turned deathly serious, "That the life of the elf is rather…inconsequential to me."

"Say no more, my lord," Loren said with a confident smile and a wave of his hand, "I shall see to it. I am assuming we would like Noa returned to the castle?"

"_I_ would like my daughter back, yes," the king said, his eyes narrowing at his advisor's use of the royal we, "_I_ would like Noa brought back to the castle."

Loren coughed uncomfortably, "Yes of course, your majesty. She shall be home before nightfall," the wizard swept into another bow, "My lord, my lady."

With a flourish his wand appeared and he was gone in an instant as another burst of thick smoke filled the room.

· · · · ·

Noa stopped suddenly and looked around in alarm.

"What?" Dayne asked worriedly, "What's the matter?"

"Someone's here," she said, turning to him with wide eyes, "My father's sent someone. Quick, run ahead, I'll catch up to you."

"But—"

"Please just go," she begged him, shoving him forward, "They won't hurt me, my father would never allow it. But you…just go!"

Dayne gave her pleading eyes a long look before he finally turned and ran.

Moments later, when Loren appeared with his usual flare, he found Noa standing with her arms folded over her chest, glaring daggers at him.

"Loren," she said curtly, "I thought I felt your particular…presence nearby."

"Princess," he bowed to her but did not lower his gaze from her eyes. Noa's stare hardened at the marked sign of distrust from the wizard.

"I suppose you're here to bring me back kicking and screaming."

"Your father did send me to return you, yes, but I believe he also had another task in mind when he summoned me."

Noa began to feel sick at the twisted gleam in Loren's eye.

"If you harm one _hair_ on his—"

"Oh come, come, princess," the wizard all but laughed, "Let's be honest with ourselves. I'm at _least_ twenty some years your senior. Do we need to discuss the difference in our levels of magic?"

A thought occurred to Noa, and before she had any time to consider the consequences she blurted out, "What if we made a trade?"

Loren was thrown; he had expected her to cry and to beg, but to bargain? That was something he had not anticipated.

"What sort of trade?" He asked suspiciously.

Noa licked her dry lips and swallowed hard, "Well," she began slowly, the knots in her stomach growing tighter by the second, "You can only use wand magic, right?"

"Right…" Loren affirmed.

"What if…" Noa paused, completely unsure how her proposal would be met, "What if I gave you my magic?"

Loren stood stunned, and it was a good while before he found his voice again.

"…What…?"

"I could give you my magic," Noa charged ahead, "In exchange for Dayne's life. I would give you my powers."

"And what would I tell the king?" Loren couldn't hide the temptation in his voice, try as he might. The thought of possessing sorceress magic, of having powers unhindered by having to use a wand, the uses to which such an unknown increase in power could be put… the attraction of her offer was by no means trivial.

"Tell him…" Noa thought hard, "Tell him that you did kill Dayne, but in a fit of anguish I took my own life before you could prevent it."

"You want me to tell your father that you killed yourself? Over that…that _elf_?"

"If you accept my deal, then yes. I'd say it's a pretty fair trade, sorceress magic for a life."

"How do you know I won't go back on our agreement?" Loren asked slyly.

"Because we'll both sign the contract in blood. I'm no silly schoolgirl," Noa said, irritated, "I know the rules of magic."

"Then you know that if you give up your magic you'll have to leave Enara? You know it's forbidden for someone who doesn't possess powers to stay he—"

"_I KNOW_," Noa yelled, losing her calm demeanor entirely, "Don't make me offer it again, Loren."

"So be it," Loren said evenly, "I accept your deal."

The royal advisor drew patterns in the air with his wand until a foot long length of parchment appeared, the words of their agreement detailed in black ink with two lines at the bottom for both of their signatures.

"You first, my princess," Loren smirked at her wickedly.

Noa pulled a pin out of her hair and pricked the tip of her right index finger, signing her name on the paper as it floated midair.

After drawing blood from his own finger with a short blade he pulled from his robes, Loren followed suit.

With both signatures in place the parchment disappeared with a pop, and Noa turned to Loren with an expectant look on her face.

"Now what?" she asked, as she could still feel the magic coursing through her veins.

"Now you hold still," Loren instructed, approaching her with his wand held aloft.

Noa resisted the urge to back up, and she swallowed against the bile rising in her throat.

Loren placed the tip of his wand against Noa's forehead and locked eyes with her as he muttered an incantation. The white-hot fire that consumed her entire body came completely unexpected, and Noa screamed in agony as she collapsed to her knees.

It was done in mere minutes, and when his wand was safely stowed away Loren flexed his hands experimentally, stretching his fingers and grinning broadly at the new magic he felt seeping into his being.

"Oh don't worry princess," he spat condescendingly at Noa as she lay inert on the forest floor, "I'm sure it'll stop hurting soon."

Noa hardly noticed when he disappeared in a cloud, and she lay unmoving for quite some time, letting the pain fade to a throbbing ache before she managed to pull herself into an upright position. She stared at her hands in wonder; never had she felt so dull, so utterly lifeless.

Nevertheless she made herself stand up, and she took off in the direction that Dayne had gone not so long before.

She found him only a twenty-minute walk away, pacing back and forth and wearing a path in the underbrush.

"Hey there," she smiled when she saw him, falling forward and stumbling into his outstretched arms.

"Noa!" Dayne caught her in surprise, "I was so worried, what happened, what did you—" The minute his hands touched her he backpedaled away from her in horror.

"You—you—Noa, what have you _done_?" He looked at her aghast, the blood draining from his face.

"I made a deal," Noa reassured him, "I made a deal with my father's advisor, Loren. I traded my magic for you."

"You…_what?_"

"He was going to kill you," tears began streaming down her face, "My father sent him to kill you and to bring me back, so I traded him. Your life, for my magic."

"Noa…"

"Don't you see?" She tried to smile brightly, "We can go through one of the portals, we can live in the human world. It was the only way, Dayne, he would have killed you."

Dayne went silent and regarded her pityingly.

"I…I can't do that Noa…"

"What?" She choked out, her stomach dropping like a stone.

"I can't live in the human world. You've never been there but I—I have…and it's dreary, and gray, and they have huge tall buildings made of metal that spew black smoke that smells like death. I can't leave Enara."

"But I—I…What will I do?" Noa looked at him with beseeching eyes, and Dayne cringed inwardly as the tears spilled over them and onto her cheeks.

"Look," he came toward her comfortingly, "I'll take you to a portal, but that's as far as I can go."

Noa nodded numbly, and allowed him to steer her toward the nearest city. It was on the outskirts of the small town of Clorum that Dayne held the princess gently, kissed her kindly on the top of her head, and whispered goodbye.

As she watched him walk away without even a look back it occurred to her that she had never realized you could actually feel your heart breaking. Her breathing became more labored as each shard broke off and buried itself deep within her chest.

The portal was easy enough to find, as the mirror was located in the center of Clorum and there was a line of impatient looking Enarians leading up to it. Noa pulled her passport from her bag and wiped the tears from her face, trying to look inconspicuous.

When she reached the front of the line the gnome in uniform eyed her suspiciously.

"Papers, please," he said gruffly, holding out his small hand.

Noa passed him her ID and he glanced over it. If he was surprised to see the princess in Clorum, he blessedly made no fuss over it.

"Go on ahead," he said to her, already turning to the next person in the queue.

She approached the mirror and stared at its ornate silver backing in apprehension.

"Location, please," a pleasant voice came out of its milky surface.

"I um, I don't know," Noa said in panic. She hadn't thought that far ahead, and she realized with dread that she didn't know anything about anywhere in the human world.

"Location unknown. Please try again," the voice prompted.

"Why didn't Dayne tell me a—" Noa began to ask herself, when the surface of the mirror started to swirl.

"Duane Street, New York," the mirror spoke clearly, "Please say 'yes' to confirm location."

"What? Oh, yes," Noa said, startled.

The surface continued to turn into a spiral and Noa found herself mesmerized by the pattern until the voice spoke again, "Access granted. You may enter the portal. Please mind your step."

Squaring her shoulders Noa stepped into the mirror and promptly collapsed in a heap of exhaustion on the other side, her last thought being a tiny prayer that the human world would not be as horrible as Dayne had described.

· · · · ·

Dutchy was vigorously filing away reports when the mirror across the room from him began to glow, and its surface whirled rapidly.

_Well that was fast_, he thought.

Not bothering to look up from his work when he heard someone step through he asked aloud, "Now that didn't take long at all, huh Race?"

Dutchy's head snapped up in alarm at sound of a body hitting the floor.

"…You're not Racetrack…" He mused as he cautiously walked over to the still form of a girl, clutching a large bag to her like a lifeline.

"Jack!" Dutchy called over his shoulder, "Jack you better come in here, we have a visitor!"

Jack Kelly pounded down the hallway and into the room, crossing swiftly to Dutchy when he saw the body sprawled across the wooden floor.

"What do you make of this?" Dutchy asked, gesturing to the girl.

"Well I—wait a second…" Jack said as he bent closer to the girl's face, "I know you…I know—_Oh my god_, Dutchy!" He exclaimed, "It's the princess, it's Noa, I'd bet my life on it. I saw her the last time I met with King Aaren."

"Well what's she doing here?" Dutchy scratched the back of his head.

"I don't have a clue," Jack answered, "But she doesn't look too good. Let's get her into a bunk and when she wakes up we can figure out what's going on."

"Should we send someone to the king?"

"Yeah, but help me get her up first," Jack leaned down to grasp her arms but then jumped away as if burned.

"What? What was that?" Dutchy asked in concern.

Jack's face paled, "All of her magic," he whispered, shaken, "It's all gone."

"What?" Dutchy asked stunned.

"All right, change of plans," Jack said, "We're going to put her in a bed in the sick room and you're going to sit there and keep an eye on her. Don't tell anyone else that she's here. If anyone asks where you are I'm going to tell them that you're mega puking or something, so they can't go in there. The second she wakes up, and I mean the _instant_ she opens her eyes, you come get me, okay?"

Dutchy nodded and helped Jack hoist Noa up. The two boys tiptoed quietly down the hallway and brought the sleeping princess into the sick room, laying her down carefully onto a bunk.

"I'll come get you as soon as she's awake," Dutchy assured Jack as he closed the door.

Jack shuddered as he walked back down the stairs. He'd touched non-magical creatures before of course, living in the human world he came into contact with them every day. But there was something chilling about touching someone that had literally had the magic drained right out of them.

He rubbed his thumb over the tips of his fingers and shuddered. The phantom feeling of touching sorceress flesh devoid of magic disturbed him, and it wasn't until Noa woke up hours later that he realized his own discomfort paled deeply in comparison to the haunting he saw behind her eyes.

Author's Note: Well, I know that was kind of an odd start, but I promise the actual newsies are going to be playing central roles in all of the chapters to come. Let me know what you think!


	2. Counting Continents

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Newsies!

Author's Note: And heeeeere's chapter two!

Chapter Two: Counting Continents

Noa opened her eyes groggily and rubbed a hand over her face, brushing away the dark brown hair that tickled her nose.

Slowly she peered about at her surroundings, taking in the small and barren room with its unpainted wooden walls, the simple blue curtains that blocked the sunlight from entering through the windows, and the blond boy who sat beside the bed, watching her steadily.

"Hello there," he greeted her softly.

"Hello."

"I'm Dutchy," the boy said, as if that explained everything, "And if you'll excuse me I'll have to tell Jack you're awake now."

Noa nodded despite her lack of understanding, and Dutchy leaned his head out the doorway, rasping out in a tired voice, "Jack…Jack I need you in here, I don't think I'm doing so well."

He smiled back at the perplexed Noa and winked. Moments later Jack entered the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

"Good evening, princess," Jack said with a slight bow.

"Please don't call me that," Noa responded quietly, shifting her eyes away from his.

"Ah," Jack spoke, leaning back against the door, "I figured that there was little chance of you retaining your title after you'd lost your magic."

Noa winced at his words from the sitting position she had pulled herself into.

"Mind telling me what you're doing here?" Jack asked, "Or how the princess of Mora managed to lose her powers?"

"I…" Noa began, feeling as if every word just twisted the knife in deeper, "I made a deal with a wizard…to—to save a life."

"Whose life?"

"A child," Noa lied, knowing she couldn't yet bare to reveal the painful truth to anyone, let alone a complete stranger, "I had gotten into a fight with my father," she decided to add in a little reality to the mix, "And I ran into the woods surrounding the castle. I was walking and walking until I heard someone call for help, and I followed the voice until I found a little girl. There was a wizard, and he said that her mother owed him a debt she couldn't repay, so he was going to take the girl's life instead."

Jack nodded, such atrocities were not completely unheard of in the magical world of Enara.

"I begged him to let her go, and I told him that I could give him riches beyond his wildest imagination from the palace. But he said all he wanted was the power he would get from killing the girl, and that the gold meant nothing to him," Noa paused, shocking herself at her ability to create a lie so quickly, "And so I told him he could have my power instead. Since I'm an adult he could drain me of my magic without killing me. He agreed, we signed the contract in blood, he took my magic, and he let the little girl go."

"And how did you end up here?" Dutchy joined in.

"I ran to the nearest portal, which was in Clorum," Noa explained, "I'd never been to the human world before, and the only place I'd ever heard of was Dane Street, in New York. One of the maids was talking about it one day in the castle."

"You mean _Duane_ Street," Jack corrected, giving her an odd look.

"Right," Noa shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, "Right, no, sorry, I meant to say that, I'm just really tired."

There was an awkward pause as all three of the room's occupants studied each other.

"You gave up your magic—your title—your entire life—for someone you didn't even know?"

"She was a little girl!" Noa burst out, tears stinging her eyes for reasons entirely unknown to the boys, "She was just a little girl."

The three fell silent again as Noa struggled to regain her composure.

"And what about your family? Do they have any idea where you are?"

Shaking her head Noa replied, "No, part of the contract was that the wizard agreed to send a message to my father, telling him that I had run away and I wasn't coming back. I didn't give him a reason why," she waggled the bare ring finger on her left hand, "And I gave him my ring with the royal seal to deliver with the message, so my father would believe it."

"Huh," Jack grunted unintelligently in response.

A thought occurred to her as she eyed Jack, "You're gatekeepers, right?" She asked suddenly.

Jack nodded slowly.

"Well I—I can't go back through the portal, we all know that. And even if I could, I'd just be banished back here anyway…" Noa bit her lip, "Do you think…Do you think I could stay here, with you?"

"I don't think harboring run away princesses is quite in my job description," Jack said dryly.

"Please," Noa pleaded, "I can pay you, I brought plenty of money with me, and when that runs out I'm sure that I have things you could sell back in Enara."

Dutchy and Jack looked skeptical, but Noa plowed forward, "I don't know anyone here, I've never even _been_ here before, I don't know anything about this place, I'd die out there!"

Noa gripped the sheets until her knuckles turned white, and Jack considered her thoughtfully.

"I'll tell you what," he said after a few minutes contemplation, "You can earn your keep here. You help clean up, you help cook, and on top of that you pay a small monthly fee from the money you brought with you."

"In exchange for—?" Noa prompted.

"In exchange for a safe place to stay and a few lessons in how to live in the human world. You'll work outside in the world with us and we'll help you get set up here; teach you what you need to know. And when you're ready and able to leave, you can go."

"And you won't tell anyone I'm here?"

"Your secret will be safe with us," Jack assured her, "All of my boys here are trustworthy, and if anyone unexpected comes through that portal we'll make sure to hide you before you're seen."

"Thank you," Noa whispered after a pause, locking eyes with Jack.

"Don't mention it. All right," he said, glancing down at his pocket watch, "It's almost dinner time, so lets get you downstairs to meet the rest of the guys."

"Can I…" Noa fidgeted on the bed, "Can I change first?"

Jack told her to knock herself out, and him and Dutchy quickly exited the room. Noa appeared a minute later, and Jack gave the simple but very classically Enarian dress she wore a once over.

"Yeaaaah," he said laughing, "We're definitely gonna have to find you some new clothes. Nobody dresses like that here."

"Okay, sure," Noa agreed, "What _do_ people wear?"

"We can talk about that later," Jack waved away the question with a hand, leading the way through a bunkroom then down two flights of stairs and into a large dining hall, where a few more than a dozen boys had gathered around a long table.

"What exactly do you do to cover for being gatekeepers?" Noa had heard enough about their occupation to know that all gatekeepers had to have a human job in order to avoid suspicion of their existence in the non-magical world.

"We sell newspapers," Dutchy answered with a wide grin.

"Oh." There was a pause. "What's a newspaper?"

Dutchy smacked his forehead and Jack groaned, "This is going to take a while…"

"Sorry," Noa shrugged sheepishly, her cheeks heating up a little.

"No, no," Jack said apologetically, "It's not your fault."

"Hey Jack!" A small boy with a cigar dangling between two fingers called out from the table as the trio entered the room, "Who's the girl?"

As Noa approached the table the boy realized who she was and immediately stammered, "Oh, princess, I'm so sorry, I didn't recognize—that is, I didn't mean to offend—"

Jack made cut it motions with his hand, "Don't bother, Racetrack."

"Please," Noa held up a hand, "Don't worry about it," she sighed deeply and gave him a hollow smile, "Besides, I'm not a princess anymore."

The boys gaped at her in shock, and Jack spared her the discomfort of retelling her story, filling in his boys himself and telling them of the arrangement he had made with Noa.

Noa took a seat beside a dark boy at the table as a boy sporting an eye patch strode in from the kitchen, carrying four plates at a time.

"Faaaantastic," the boy who had introduced himself as Specs whistled from Noa's right, "It was Blink's turn to cook…"

"Hey, it's better than the stuff you make," the dark boy said, nodding to Noa, "Honestly, elves have got no manners at all."

Noa managed a weak smile against the painful constricting in her chest.

"Aw, shuddup Boots, stupid pixie," Specs muttered darkly.

Boots turned to Noa, "So, do you know anything about being a newsie?"

"I um—what's a newsie?" She asked sheepishly.

Jack blanched, realizing her he hadn't even told her the slangy job title of their occupation.

"What's a newsie?!" A curly haired boy across the table exclaimed, "Jack, what are you gonna do with her?"

"Oh she'll learn," Jack smiled reassuringly at Noa, the corners of her lips quirking up slightly in response.

"Yeah!" Blink smacked his friend upside the head, "Try to be a bit more encouraging, Mush."

"Sorry," Mush grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

Amidst eating their meal the boys went around the table and introduced themselves and their magical origin, and Noa tried to hide her discomfort when the boy named Skittery openly exposed himself to be a lycanthrope. Noa found herself equally surprised by Dutchy's revelation that he was a shyra, and she couldn't help but wonder if the boy she saw before her was indeed the shape shifter's original form.

Noa had to admit, she had never been in such mixed company, but she reminded herself that beggars can't be choosers, and if she treated a single boy unkindly merely because of his race than she would be no better than her father.

When the meal was finished and the dishes were cleared the newsies began the laborious task of trying to teach Noa all she needed to know about the human world.

After a few frustrating beginnings the boys soon realized just how little she knew, and it finally came down to Jack breaking out a map of the world and saying, "Okay, so there are seven continents, right? Well we live on _this_ one here."

Noa had dutifully and interestedly studied the map until Jack interrupted, giving her a sideways glance, "You know, we're gonna have to call you by a nickname or something."

Noa shot him a quizzical look before peering back at the map, "Why's that?"

"Well, we actually get a few tourists from Enara here, and if someone recognizes you I'm pretty sure it'll blow your cover," Jack laughed, "Plus, it'll probably help you blend in a little, 'cause most of the real kids who sell papers like we do don't have any family or anything, or they're runaways. So a lot of them go by an alias so they can't be found, and some of 'em pick a name that they hope'll inspire fear, so people won't mess with them."

"Oh, huh… Okay, one of you pick, I'm not terribly creative."

"How 'bout princess?" Boots spoke up excitedly, and at least half the boys slapped themselves on the forehead, groaning.

"Oh _brilliant_, Boots, nobody'll ever figure _that_ one out," Specs drawled sarcastically, and Boots scowled at him silently.

"Speaking of blending in," Racetrack piped up, "Don't forget about the accent Jack, there's no way in hell anyone's gonna believe she's from New York."

"What's wrong with my accent?" Noa asked.

"Nothings _wrong_ with it, per se," Jack explained, "It's just that people here have all sorts of regional dialects, just like in Enara, and yours is particularly _not_ Manhattan, New York. Okay, try to imitate my accent."

"My name is Jack, and I'm from New York," Noa said experimentally, attempting to copy Jack's vocal inflections.

Jack bit his tongue to keep from laughing while Racetrack just lost it altogether.

"…We're gonna have to come up with something else…Here, just say a bunch of stuff in your normal voice for me, okay?"

"Um, okay, my name is Noa, I come from Enara, I don't know what I'm supposed to be saying, blah blah blah—"

"All right, all right, that's enough, you sound like an idiot."

Noa glared at him stonily. Princesses were, for the most part, unaccustomed to being called idiots.

"I think she sounds west coast," Specs said, "She speaks very clearly, and they don't really have any sort of an accent there."

"Well there you have it, Noa," Jack told her, "You can be from California. Let's say San Diego."

"Why San Diego?" Boots asked curiously.

"I don't know, 'cause it's the first city I thought of in California! Why the hell do you care? Pfft, why San Diego…" Jack trailed off after giving Boots a solid shove.

"Right…San Diego, San Diego, where are you San Diego?" Noa mumbled under her breath, pouring over the west side of the United States on her map.

"It's right there," Dutchy pointed to the city's location on the map helpfully.

"Oh, thanks, I see it now."

"So, any other ideas for a pseudonym for our lady friend here?" Dutchy asked.

"We can figure it out later, it's not important right now," Jack said dismissively, and turning back to Noa he went on, "Okay, so the calendar they use here has a year zero, but then it has a bunch of years before zero that are all called B.C. for 'before Christ,' I'll explain later," he said at Noa's confused look, "And then all the years after zero are called A.D. for _anno domini_. We're in the year A.D. 1899. Does this make any sense so far?"

"Uh huh…" Noa lied.

"Good, so one of the things you're going to have to keep in mind is that people hear _do_ talk about magic, and they write children's stories and stuff about it, but they don't actually believe that it's real..."

Hours later an exhausted Noa was sent off to bed, her head reeling with the effort of trying to keep hundreds of names, dates, and facts straight.

"I'm never going to get this," she complained to Jack as he made to shut the door to the sick room, which Noa had a sneaking suspicion was going to become her new sleeping quarters.

"You'll get it," Jack promised her, "You'll be selling with me tomorrow, and I won't let you do anything stupid, so don't worry."

"Thank you again, for helping me."

"Don't mention it."

He closed the door behind him and Noa drifted off to sleep, mulling over the new information that over loaded her brain.

_Wait…_She thought sleepily, _Are there seven continents or eight?_

Author's Note: Again, please let me know what you think!


	3. The Inbreeding of Oscar Delancey

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Newsies!

Author's Note: I'm alive!

Chapter Three: The Inbreeding of Oscar Delancey

There's a moment when you first wake up that you forget anything bad looming over your head, and for that one instant in time you're really, truly happy.

The soft smile that had graced Noa's features slid from her face as the cold dread of what had happened washed over her, and her eyes squeezed shut against the throbbing that began in her head.

"Rise and shine!" A voice yelled outside her door as someone pounded against the wood with a fist.

Jack poked his head inside the room, "Ya awake, princess?"

"I am now," Noa groaned, "Oh, come on, it's still dark out! Are you kidding me?"

"I wanted time to go over some stuff again before we head out," Jack grinned at her, tossing some clothes into the room, "And these are for you, they'll help you blend in a bit more."

Noa tossed her pillow at the his head with all her might, but it just made a soft whump as it hit the wall three feet from his face.

"Nice aim," he laughed as he ducked back out of the room.

She grumbled various obscenities under her breath while dragging herself out of bed, shuffling over to the clothes that lay on the floor.

"Let's see here," she muttered, turning them over in her hands.

Donning the rough pair of dark grey pants and green button up shirt it occurred to Noa that she didn't even know if her outfit had belonged to a boy or a girl; her knowledge of human dress was that minimal.

She sighed, straightening the collar and rolling up the sleeves of the top before sitting against the edge of the bed to pull on her own brown boots that she had brought with her from Enara. Quickly plaiting her hair into a messy braid she secured it with a tie before meeting Jack outside in the bunkroom.

"Okay," he started, walking with her down into the kitchen area from the night before, "Where do we live?"

"Manhattan?"

"Manhattan…?" Jack made a continuing gesture with his hand.

"Oh, Manhattan, New York!"

"Yep, and what do we do?"

"Sell newspapers."

"And that's called….?"

"Carrying the banner."

"Right. What are we called?"

"Newsies."

"Hey, you're not doing _so_ bad," Jack joked, chucking her in the shoulder before handing her a piece of bread from the pantry.

"Thanks," she mumbled around a mouthful of food.

She stared dully as he lit the lantern that sat on the countertop with a flick of his hand and wondered if she would ever get used to seeing other people use magic that she no longer had.

"So what's a newspaper?"

"It's a um…Well, it's sort of um…" Noa paused, thinking hard, "Okay, it's a thing with a lot of pages where people print all sorts of stories about what's going on in the city. And the really important stuff is what's on the front page."

Jack tore into his own piece of bread, "See, you're gonna be fine."

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that," Noa said uncertainly, leaning against the counter.

"Don't worry, we're pretty low on the food chain out there, so there's not exactly a crowd of people lined up to talk to us. They usually just want to buy a paper and get on their way. If worse comes to worse we'll just pretend you're mute."

"Ha. Ha. Ha," Noa glared at him.

"We'll get you some other clothes, by the way," he gestured to her attire, "Most girls here where skirts and dresses, but that was all we had lying around."

Noa looked down at her outfit thoughtfully, "I like these," she commented, "They're comfortable. I didn't get to wear pants a lot at home."

The noise of the boys upstairs waking up and getting ready for the day drifted down the stairwell, and Jack turned to Noa and told her that they had better head down to the newspaper distribution office in order to get an early start, because according to him "God knows how long it'll take you to sell all your papers."

Noa glowered at him and he smiled back playfully, handing her a grey cap that had been folded up in his back pocket.

"It'll help keep the sun out of your eyes," he explained.

Just as they were about to leave what Noa had learned was the Duane Street newsboys lodging house, the boy who had introduced himself as Snipeshooter the night before appeared in front of them with a soft pop.

The unsuspecting Jack and Noa stumbled back in surprise.

"What the hell was that for?!" Jack lit into the small boy, who was laughing hysterically.

"You," he could barely speak, "You shoulda seen the looks on your faces!"

"This is why I don't like imps," Jack commented dryly to Noa, as Snipeshooter regained control of himself, "What do you want?"

"Dutchy just wanted me to remind you that you gotta figure out something to call Noa other than her real name, 'cause one slip out there," he nodded his head towards the door, "And she could be in real trouble. Well, really we'd all be in trouble, hiding a runaway princess and all."

He threw Noa a wink to show her he meant no harm by his comment.

"Yeah, yeah, tell Dutchy not to get his john's in a twist and that I'll figure it out."

Snipeshooter nodded at him and disappeared with another pop, while Jack turned to study Noa thoughtfully.

"What?"

"It's just that most people's nicknames have to _do_ with something about them, like the way they look or act," Jack explained, "So I was just seeing if I could think of anything by looking at you."

"Oh, well, look a little less obviously, you're freaking me out. Just call me 'hey you,' or something for now, we'll come up with a name eventually."

Jack shrugged at her, "Yeah, I guess. Oh! I almost forgot."

Sticking a couple of fingers into the dirt of a potted plant that sat in the entranceway to the lodging house, Jack quickly smudged some across one of Noa's cheeks and the bridge of her nose before she managed to swat his hand away.

"What are you doing?!" She demanded angrily.

"You're too clean for a newsgirl," he said, wiping away the leftover dirt onto his pants, "This'll make you look more authentic."

"Gee…thanks," Noa drawled sarcastically.

Jack only grinned in response and led the way through the streets to the distribution office, having to grab hold of Noa's shirtsleeve and tug every now and then as she got distracted by the sights and sounds of Manhattan.

"And here's the good 'ole distribution office," Jack gestured grandly to the building behind the padlocked gate they stood in front of, "You remember what I told you about buying newspapers?"

"Call them papes and ask for thirty?" Noa supplied hopefully, "Oh, and they'll cost me fifteen cents!" She held up the three nickels that Jack had given her the night before.

"Yep, you got it," Jack said, the proud teacher, giving the brim of her hat a playful hit.

Noa eyed the padlocked gate, "So uh, exactly how early are we?"

Before Jack could answer two young men sauntered up from the other side of the gate, with what they probably hoped was an intimidating swagger.

"Humans," Jack mouthed at Noa silently, before turning to the boys.

"What can I do for you, Oscar, Morris?" He inclined his head slightly to each one.

"You're here awfully early, aintcha Jacky?" The one called Oscar sneered, "Not plannin' any trouble, are ya?"

"Aw, that hurts me Oscar," Jack placed a hand over his heart, "You know me, I don't cause trouble," he winked at Noa, "Just showin' my friend here the ropes of being a newsie."

"Great," Morris curled his lip in distaste, "Another one. Ooh, and this one's a girl! Careful Oscar, they might start breeding. We'll have little inbred newsie babies runnin' around all of New York."

"Morris! I'm surprised at you, mentioning _inbred_ like that in front of your brother," Jack winked at Noa and jerked his thumb back at Morris, "He can be so insensitive."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Oscar lunged forward toward Jack, gripping the iron bars of the gate.

"All right that's enough, boys!" A portly middle-aged man called out to the brothers from a window of the building just inside the gate, "Let's get back to work!"

"Better go, you know how Uncle _Weasel_ hates to be kept waiting."

Morris spat at his feet and gave Jack one last menacing look before him and his brother trotted back to their uncle, who stood eyeing them impatiently, arms crossed and foot tapping.

"Pleasant fellows," Noa said sardonically, "Are all humans that…agreeable?"

"Nah," Jack said with a smile, "The Delancey brothers are just a special breed."

Noa nodded uncertainly as the rest of the boys from the lodging house trotted up to join them. They stood idly chatting for only a few minutes before Oscar was sent down to unlock the gate and let them in.

The boys lined up single file to get their papers from the barred window where the Delancey brothers and their uncle stood looking generally foul and put off.

When Noa reached the front of the line she bought her papers and hefted them onto her shoulder as she had seen the other boys do before her, eyebrows rising in surprise at their weight.

"Ready to try to sell some of these?" Jack asked as he approached her with his own giant stack of newspapers balanced precariously on his shoulder.

"I guess so," Noa replied with a nervous shrug.

The pair departed through the streets, Jack leading the way as they navigated through marketplaces, foot traffic, and the occasional carriage.

After two long and grueling hours of screaming her lungs out, Noa had only managed to sell a disappointing five of her thirty papers. Shooting Jack an envious look as he sold his twenty-third newspaper to a snooty old man Noa had to admit that hawking headlines for hours on end required much more effort than she had originally anticipated.

"How ya doin'?" Jack had to cut himself short as he almost let her name slip.

"Lousy," Noa whined, staring dismally at the stack of papers that lay at her feet.

"Well, have you been doing what I told you? You know, trying to find the most interesting headlines to call out, or finding a different spin on the ones they wrote?"

"Yes!" Noa spat out defensively, crossing her arms in a huff.

"Okay," Jack said, thumbing through the paper and showing her a headline, "What would you yell out for this?"

"I'd say 'New apartments being built in Brooklyn! Limited space available!'"

"There's your problem!" Jack exclaimed, "That's boring! See where it says they're destroying some rich folks' pet cemetery to build the apartments on top of? Try yelling 'Apartments being built on burial ground, hauntings have already been reported!' or something."

Noa took his advice and triumphantly sold off a half dozen more newspapers in record time. She spent the rest of the day peeking through articles, trying to find their most salacious details, and only a few hours after a short break for lunch Noa had rid herself of every last paper.

She hung around with Jack until he had sold his one hundredth newspaper, just as day was turning to evening.

As they walked back to the lodging house Jack clapped a hand on Noa's shoulder, giving it an affectionate squeeze, "You know, you really didn't do that bad today. I expected way more trouble than that."

"Thanks," she intoned sarcastically, but smiled despite, "I'm sure there's a compliment in there somewhere."

They trudged up the stairs to the second story, entering the dining room where most of the house's other occupants had already gathered.

The smell of food wafted over from the kitchen, and Noa seated herself exhaustedly at the table, sinking down into a chair. She listened around her as the boys chatted animatedly about their days and allowed herself a small smile.

Despite no more magic, despite no more royalty, and despite that dull ache where she had been sure a heart was supposed to be, Noa found that Racetrack's story of a snobby lady with the back of her skirt unknowingly tucked into her bloomers made her laugh.

And for a fleeting moment, the banished princess let herself believe that everything would turn out okay.

Shout Out:

dreamweaver2: Wow, I cannot even say what a pick-me-up your review was. Really, seriously, thank you so much for the encouragement and kind words! A lycanthrope is just another word for werewolf (clearly I was just trying to sound cool, haha, sorry for the confusion!). Thanks for the great advice, I'll definitely keep it all in mind when I'm writing!


	4. Royal Suicide

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Newsies!

Chapter Four: Royal Suicide

Two weeks had passed since her arrival in Manhattan and, having worked her way up to fifty papers a day, Noa was beginning to feel more and more at ease in her new world. Yes, many human ways were strange and startling to her, but Jack managed to save her from making most obvious mistakes.

Jack did not, however, catch up to her in time to keep the princess from accosting a very confused street magician, demanding to know how he explained showing magic to humans.

"_He's not really a wizard_," Jack had hissed in her ear, dragging her away by the arm.

"And besides," he had reprimanded, "What are you doing talking to him considering you thought he _was_? Are you _trying_ to get caught?"

She had murmured a quiet and embarrassed sorry, allowing herself to be led away from the very perplexed performer.

This day, conversely, had passed with unexpected smoothness, without a bump or hitch to indicate that anything was wrong or that Noa was anything other than a newsgirl.

If for no other reason than nothing had yet gone amiss, it should have surprised no one when a fuming gatekeeper from Brooklyn showed up at the Duane Street lodging house, demanding to know why his 'birdies' had been telling him about a 'girl' living there.

_BANG_

The front door of the house slammed so hard it shook the floor, and Noa jumped to attention from her belly-down position lying on a bunk. She rolled her eyes and turned back to reading the one newspaper she had not managed to sell, but a new sound from the lobby made her pause.

"Where the hell is everyone? Jack! Jack I need to talk to you! _Now!_" It was a man's voice, gruff and low and entirely unfamiliar.

A slow panic set in, festering in her stomach before it crawled up and hitched in her throat.

Tucking the newspaper under her arm Noa slipped quietly off the mattress and tiptoed to the top of the stairwell, peering around the edge of the doorframe to see if she could catch a glimpse of whoever was on the warpath.

"Hey! What are you doing all the way over in Manhattan, huh?"

The appearance of Jack in the lobby startled her, and Noa whipped back out of sight before she could see the newcomer.

"I've been hearing things," the man accused, "Things I'm not too happy about."

Jack laughed outright at his annoyance.

"Yeah, like what?"

"Like there's someone here who's not supposed to be. Like a girl."

"Look Spot, I don't know where you get your information from, but I don't know what you're talking about."

_Spot?_ Noa thought, holding back a snicker, _Who __**is**__ this guy?_

"You think I'm some kind of idiot, Jack? You think no ones gonna notice that you're out selling with some girl?" Noa could practically hear his teeth clench in aggravation, "You know the rules! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Spot," Noa snorted in laughter despite herself, but she held her breath as both boys paused at the odd noise coming from the bunkroom, only daring to breath again when Jack continued, "It's not what you think. I just need you to trust me on this one."

"Oh no," Spot held up his hands, "No way. This is more than your job on the line, Jacky-boy, this is your life. _Our_ lives."

"You bring girls back to _your_ lodging house all the time."

"Yeah, but I don't let them _live_ there!"

Jack sighed in frustration and ran his hands through his hair.

"If I tell you this, you can't tell any of your newsies."

In the bunkroom Noa clutched her newspaper and fervently shook her head in horror. _He couldn't_.

"I'll tell 'em if it's going to hurt them," Spot narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"It won't," Jack assured him, and finally the other newsie nodded in assent.

"Fine."

Only a few feet up the stairs Noa practically writhed in dread, her breath coming in little hiccups of air.

When Racetrack appeared seemingly from nowhere it took everything Noa had to keep from screaming aloud.

"Hey, whatcha doin'?"

"_Shhh!_" She hissed at him, jerking her head toward the stairs.

Racetrack poked his head around the doorframe long enough to see Spot in close conversation with Jack before he quickly motioned Noa follow him.

Safely through an open window, up the fire escape, and now sitting on the roof Noa turned to Racetrack in question.

"_Who_ is Jack talking to and why can't I listen? They're talking about me!"

"It's the leader of the gatekeepers in Brooklyn, and trust me when I say he'd be none too thrilled when he figured out you were up there listening to them."

"Yeah but—but what is Jack gonna tell him? He wanted to know why there was a girl staying at the lodging house!"

"I'm sure he'll think of something," Racetrack said, slightly less than reassuringly.

Noa gave into her cynicism and rolled her eyes.

"Great."

· · · · ·

Back in the lobby Jack managed to start his explanation in perhaps the most vague manner possible.

"You know the princess of Mora?"

"Yeah, I heard about that, 'spretty pathetic if you ask me," Spot huffed, "Why?"

"Wait—what?"

Spot raised his eyebrows at his friend's genuine confusion.

"Whaddya mean, what?"

"I mean, what are you talking about? What's pathetic?"

"You didn't hear?!"

"Hear _what_?!" Jack all but yelled, increasingly irritated with Spot speaking to him like he was an idiot.

Spot leaned in closer, "One of my guys just got back from Mora, right?"

"Uh huh," Jack tried to hide his puzzlement at the conspiratorial whisper.

"Well apparently it's all over the five kingdoms that Mora's little princess went nuts and offed herself. Royal suicide, just like that, out of the blue. They had a huge funeral about a week and a half ago."

Jack gaped at him dumbly before Spot could no longer contain himself, "Pick your chin up off the floor! What the hell are you staring at me like that for?!"

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts the Manhattan newsie finally managed to squeak out, "Sorry! That's just—that's really too bad. I had a chance to meet her once, she seemed nice."

"Yeah, it's a real sob story, get it together already," Spot sniped, "What does any of this have to do with the girl I've been hearing about?"

"Did you ever get a chance to meet the princess?" He asked conversationally, trying to buy himself time to think.

"No, never even seen her before," came the flippant answer, "Again, what does this have to do with that _I_ came here for?"

At that moment a light bulb went off in Jack's head so bright that he had to bite his tongue to keep from grinning.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just a shame, s'all," Jack went on casually, "So this girl we have here. See, Dutchy was just sitting by the portal, and all of the sudden this person falls through…"

Leaning back against the check in counter Jack wove his lie effortlessly, telling Spot all of the poor girl who gave up her powers to save another's life, and how the shock and exertion of her escapade left her with no memory of who she was, not even her own name.

The Manhattan gatekeepers, Jack explained, had taken in the girl out of the pure goodness of their hearts. What did it matter to Spot if Jack never told him that the girl was the princess Noa, supposedly dead and buried?

"Huh," Spot grunted when Jack was finished wrapping up his story, "Hell of a thing to do, giving up your magic like that."

"I know," Jack's head bobbed in agreement.

"So where are the rest of your guys, anyway? This place is like a ghost town."

"Eh, most of 'em are downstairs," Jack waved a hand toward the staircase that led to the dining hall area, "'Cept Itey, but who knows where that elf is. We had a card game going until you came in here yelling your head off."

"Is Snitch here? He still owes me money."

"Nah," Jack shook his head, "He's on vacation in Mora right now. He'll be back in a few weeks though."

At that moment Racetrack sauntered nonchalantly down the stairs, feigning surprise at the Brooklyn gatekeeper's presence.

"Oh! Hey Spot, how's it going?"

"Fine, just finding out about this new _girl_ you've all been hiding over here."

Racetrack laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and hoping that Jack had found a way to keep Noa's identity safe, "Yeah, sorry about that. Guess we shoulda figured you'd find out sooner or later."

"So uh, Race, could you grab Cal and bring her down? Spot came all the way here, he might as well meet her." Jack gave the fairy a long and hard stare, struggling to make him believe he knew what he was doing.

"_Cal_? Why_Cal_?" Spot scoffed.

The floor squeaked as Jack shuffled his feet in slight embarrassment, "It's uh, short for California. We're telling everyone she's from there because she sounds nothing like a local. 'Sides, we don't know her name so we don't have anything else to call her."

Spot quirked an eyebrow in response.

"Don't ask me," Jack rolled his eyes, "It was Boots' idea."

"Figures."

· · · · ·

The crunch of Racetrack's soft footsteps on the roof reached Noa's ear, and she turned her head toward him from where she lay on her back on the shingles, staring at the pink clouds of the sunset.

"Hey, Jack wants you to go meet Spot."

"Yeah? What did he tell him about me?"

"I honestly don't know, but Jack called you Cal in front of him, so I'm fairly certain he doesn't know who you are."

"Oh good, your confidence is really comforting," Noa spoke sarcastically, but her smile took the edge out of her words.

Offering a hand to help her up Racetrack pulled the short girl to her feet, and they climbed the fire escape ladder down to the open window of the bunkroom. Noa hopped inside and Racetrack followed close behind, almost running into her as she stopped dead in her tracks at the top of the stairs.

Frozen on the top step blood pounded in Noa's head like a drum, her knuckles whitening with the tightness of her grip on the railing as she stared at the back of the dark blonde headed boy standing next to Jack.

"Uh, Cal?" Racetrack whispered in her ear, "You okay?"

_It can't be him_, the frantic voice in her mind raved.

Her head starting shaking before she could stop and Noa backpedaled so hard she slammed into Racetrack, who caught her by the arms, holding her steady.

_No way, he said he wouldn't come here_.

The commotion caught Jack's attention and he twisted around, the boy next to him turning with him.

"You must be, uh,_California_, right?" The blonde boy couldn't hide his small smirk at the name.

His eyes swept over her; from her bare feet against the wood floor to the auburn curls that fell inches past her shoulders. Her posture and murky expression gave him every indication of a person somewhat misused, and his chest constricted slightly.

From portals to people, Spot Conlon had always been a sucker for fixing broken things.

When his face came into view Noa let out a ragged breath, and her hold on the railing loosened. She blinked away the image of the man that her clearly masochist mind had conjured, blissfully unaware of the strange looks the three boys were giving her.

"Cali?" Jack stepped towards the bottoms steps, examining her ashen face intently, "You all right? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"What?" She snapped out of her daze, eyes focusing on Jack, "Oh, sorry! Your friend, um, just looks someone I knew."

Spot shock Jack a suspicious glance and the Manhattan leader blanched slightly, "Oh, are you starting to remember some things? About home?"

Noa stared at the intense look Jack was giving her and her brow wrinkled slightly in confusion.

"Yeah…" She finally said slowly after a pause, "Yeah, I think I am."

The sentence was almost spoken as a question as she looked to Jack to see if that was the right response. Her heartbeat calmed at his almost imperceptible nod of approval.

"You must be Spot," Noa said to the other boy, coming down the stairs and extending a hand, "Nice to meet you."

Spot's story echoed through Jack's head and he couldn't help but study Noa with suspicion laced through his gaze.

She was lying about something, he knew that now, the question was what and _how_ he could find out without scaring her away. The last thing he wanted was for her to run from the lodging house and get killed in the human world under his watch.

As she got closer to him Noa realized that Spot's similarities in appearance to Dayne ended with his hair color and basic build. His blue stare pierced where Dayne's brown eyes had glowed; his nose upturned at the end where Dayne's had been long and straight.

Spot's callused hand grasped her own to shake, and when Noa looked down at his ink stained fingers she noted that they two were opposite from Dayne's thin and slender digits.

Sheer willpower was all that curbed Spot's reaction to her magic-less touch to nothing more than a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. It felt like touching something you expected to be warm, but found was frozen instead. The feeling lingered on his hand and he narrowly resisted the urge to wipe it on his pants.

"You too," Spot's head inclined towards her, but his gaze stayed locked on her guarded hazel eyes curiously, "Jack's been telling me all about you."

She didn't notice the cane stuck in his belt loop until Spot rested his hand on the top of it in an obviously habitual gesture.

_Wizard_, she concluded mentally, _Interesting wand, though_.

"Has he?" Her lips turned up in a small smile, "Nothing too bad I hope."

"S'okay," Spot gave her a roguish wink, "I'm sure it was all lies."

The blush that tinted her cheeks faded as quickly as it had come, but both Jack and Spot were quick enough to catch it.

"Let's hope so," Noa flashed Jack a threateningly sweet smile, and he gave her one in return, eyes laughing.

Spot watched the exchange with a quizzical expression before speaking to Jack, "Anyway, I just came to make sure you weren't doing anything stupid—"

"Thanks," Jack cut in sarcastically, "I appreciate it."

"—But I should probably be getting back to Brooklyn."

"Well, it was good to see you," Jack said a bit too hastily, eager to have the other leader leave before Noa's cover was blown.

Hand on the doorknob Spot paused in his departure, turning back to Noa, "If you ever get sick of these guys, you're welcome to come sell in Brooklyn for a day or something."

Racetrack and Jack raised their eyebrows at his offer, twin expressions of interest on their faces. The Brooklyn newsie himself seemed surprised at his own words.

"Thanks," Noa smiled graciously, "I might do that sometime."

Spot nodded and opened the door, walking out into street as the city prepared for nightfall. He pulled on the grey cap that had been wedged into his back pocket, his expression dark and thoughtful.

_Why the __**hell**__ did I say that?_

Brooding over his statement he began the long trek back to Brooklyn, right hand twirling the cane idly.

That night he lay awake staring at the ceiling, and when he finally fell asleep he dreamt of sad hazel eyes and skin so cold it burned.

Shout Outs:

midnight1899: Oh man, thank you so much! I didn't even think of doing flashbacks, but what a great suggestion! I couldn't really fit one into this chapter very well, but I'll try to do some soon. Thanks for the wonderful review!

dreamweaver2: Haha, yeah, it's amazing how much better about a story positive encouragement will make you feel!

CUcat87: Reviews like this just absolutely make my day. Thank you so much!!


End file.
